PLANNING COMMISSION
October 16, 2006
7:30 pm
Present: Council & Staff Present:
Ms. Newsom Carol Rudi,
Councilman
Ms. Alexander
Mr. Reynolds Scott Wingerson,
Assist. City Manager
Mr. Stanley David Ramsay, City
Counselor
Ms. Suter Melinda
Mehaffy, Econ. Dev. Admin.
Mr. Whitton Becky
Jarrett, Admin. Assist
Ms. Abbott
Mr. Steffens
Chairman Hill
Absent: Mr. Boor
Mr. Shevling
Mr. West
Item 2 on the
Agenda: Pledge of Allegiance.
Chairman Hill led the group in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
Item 3 on the
Agenda: Approval of the September 5,
2006 minutes.
MOTION: By Ms. Newsom, second by Mr. Steffens to
approve the September 5, 2006 minutes.
The
minutes were approved as submitted.
Item 4 on the
Agenda: Communications from the Audience.
None.
Item 5 on the Agenda: Consideration of a Final Plat at
Mr. Wingerson reported that the applicant is requesting final plat approval for the property at 64th & N. Prospect, which is currently under development. The plat provides separate development lots, which allows a change of ownership for those separate lots. Staff is recommending approval with two minor conditions. One is to remove or further clarify the building setback narrative, which the design engineer is agreeable to. The other condition is for the developer to submit any applicable deed restrictions or covenants that may apply to the property. The City would review these covenants to make sure that nothing in those documents would directly conflict with City regulations. Mr. Wingerson asked if the Commission had any questions for him.
MOTION: By Mr. Whitton, second by Ms. Alexander to
approve a Final Plat at
VOTE: Ms. Newsom Yes
Mr. Reynolds Yes
Mr. Stanley Yes
Ms. Suter Yes
Mr. Whitton Yes
Ms. Abbott Yes
Mr. Steffens Yes
Chairman Hill Yes
The motion carried. (9-Yes, 0-No)
Item 6 on the Agenda: Update on the Comprehensive Plan.
Mr. Wingerson reported that the review plan for the Comprehensive Plan process recently met to interview the first two consultants. Next week two more consultants will be interviewed, and then the group will forward a recommendation to the City Council. In his opinion, the two consultants that were interviewed were both qualified, it’s really just a matter of finding the firm that best fits the community.
Item 7 on the
Agenda: Communications from the City Council and the City Staff.
Mr. Wingerson thanked the Commission for participating in the MARC Review Planning Process this evening at 6:00 pm. Hopefully everyone can participate in the next one on the 30th of October.
The final draft of the Gale Communities Master Plan arrived at City Hall today. The receipt of this document kicks off a series of events. Staff is in the process of making copies and distributing them. Gale Communities will present the plan, for information purposes only, to the City Council on October 23rd. He anticipated that on the following Monday (November 6th) staff would make a presentation to the Planning Commission before publishing it for a public hearing to make it part of the existing 1993 Comprehensive Plan.
Ms. Newsom asked if the presentation for Council would be during study session.
Mr. Wingerson replied yes, and that it would probably start around 6:15 pm.
Mr. Wingerson said that another component of the Master Plan
is the
Mr. Wingerson gave the Commission an update on the building
of
Mr. Wingerson reported that Ms. Mehaffy, Counselor Ramsay
and himself have had some good meetings with Ms. Wolfe’s attorneys regarding
The community center is moving along nicely. The next and final round of bid openings on the large part of the project is October 23rd. He stressed that the pace of the project is very aggressive, so if anyone sees anything that they want to change they need to say something quickly.
Item 8 on the
Agenda: Communications from the Planning Commission Members.
Ms. Alexander made note of the article in the Sunday paper
regarding Gale Communities and their project in
Mr. Steffens asked about the stop sign on
Mr. Wingerson said he recalls that several years ago The Woodlands Homes Association brought that to the City Council’s attention. TranSystems did a traffic analysis on it and found out that not only was a four-way stop sign not warranted, but it could be more dangerous.
Councilman Beer added that the study also determined that speed was a factor as well and that TranSystems provided a number of suggestions to calm the speed in the area. The City ended up narrowing the striping and also having the trees trimmed for better sight distance.
Mr. Wingerson also remembered that the school district moved their drop-off/pick-up area to make a safer area for the school kids.
Ms. Newsom thanked everyone who helped with Gladfest. She felt with all the changes that took place this year, it was a good Gladfest. A huge thanks to Melinda Mehaffy and City staff. Melinda was the staff liaison and she did a great job. Ms. Newsom also said that everyone in this room will probably be getting an invitation to the Chamber of Commerce Holiday Awards Banquet. It is the 40th Anniversary for the Chamber and because the Chamber and the City work very closely together they want to include people involved with the City. The banquet will be Friday, December 1st at Staley Farms.
Chairman Hill said he would agree with Scott regarding the comprehensive plan; it’s just a matter of finding the best consultant for the community.
Item 9 on the Agenda: Adjournment
Chairman Hill adjourned the meeting at 7:59 P.M.
Respectfully submitted:
______________________________________ Approved as submitted _____
Becky Jarrett, Recording Secretary
______________________________________ Approved as corrected _____
Brian Hill, Chairman